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An American decision to partially withdraw tens of thousands of soldiers in Europe would not surprise no one. The European stance that Operation Epic Fury is ‘not our war’ gives the US a chance to mirror this attitude in the Ukraine dossier.

Europe is terrified by a single sentence from Trump

The current NATO conflict surrounding the Iran war is fundamentally different from previous ones.

Georgia Meloni is the first woman to serve as Italian prime minister and, in office since October 2022, heading the third-longest government in the history of the Italian Republic.

The tale of two successful iron ladies, Frederiksen and Meloni

By: N. Peter Kramer | Wednesday, April 1, 2026

The social-democrat Frederiksen and the far-right Meloni are not natural allies but have a shared priority: migration

Despite the question on the ballot paper was quite complex and many Italians struggled to understand the technical details, the turnout was almost 60%, a high figure for Italian standards. The vote morphed into a plebiscite on Meloni’s near-record three and half years in office.

Referendum defeat rubbed off the shine of Meloni and her government

By: N. Peter Kramer | Tuesday, March 24, 2026

Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has lost a referendum on a constitutional reform which had turned into a vote on her government.

In the past the dilemma was confined to the RN, regarded as beyond the pale. But this year, the ostracism of the LFI is a new feature in French politics. Under its leader, Jean-Luc Melanchon, LFI formed an alliance with PS, Greens and Communists to give the left a strong showing in the last legislative election in 2024. But the pact has unravelled.

Far-left and far-right gains throw French mainstream parties into a quandary

By: N. Peter Kramer | Wednesday, March 18, 2026

In many big towns and cities, Socialists and centre-right Republicans are tempted to make electoral pacts on their outside flanks to beat the opposition in next Sunday’s run off of the French mayoral elections.

Recently, the Commission President said the EU had made a ‘strategic mistake’ in moving away from nuclear energy. She betrayed by saying that not only her political mentor Angela Merkel, who halted one overnight the use of nuclear energy. But also the former Commission Vice-President Frans Timmermans also known as the Climate-Pope.

President Ursula von der Leyen has seen better days

By: N. Peter Kramer | Wednesday, March 11, 2026

EU leaders, member states, MEPs, EP political groups have had it with Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

Europe’s Big Three, France, Germany and the UK, did manage to issue a joint statement, warning Iran they were ready to take ‘defensive action’ to destroy its ability to fire missiles and drones unless Tehran stopped its ‘indiscriminate attacks’.

The EU struggles to find a united voice

By: N. Peter Kramer | Wednesday, March 4, 2026

EU leaders knew this may coming. For weeks, they watched the US military build-up in the Middle East. But since the US-Israeli attack started on Iran, the EU looked fractured and decidedly without leverage, caught up in the maelstrom of what happens.

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Are the hundreds of billions for defense being spent wisely, in for 95 percent traditional weapons? At the Munich Security Conference Moritz Schularick, director of the specialised research Kiel Institute, said that over 800 billion euros in additional investment in the next years are ‘no guarantee that Europe will become more secure!’. He advocated for greater attention to innovation.

After a painful NATO exercise: are all those billions for defense being spent wisely?

By: N. Peter Kramer | Tuesday, February 17, 2026

NATO reported on its website about a large-scale exercise organised by a multinational battlegroup in Estonia. The soldiers had to train in temperatures of 20 degrees below zero. The military alliance is investing significant resources in defending its eastern flank.

Everybody knows that the European Commission is an obstacle on the way to real reforms with its dictatorial president, internal divisions among the 27 commissioners and competition between the directorates-general. On top of that, there is the European Parliament that is primarily at odds with itself or yearns for more power.

Can the EU, under pressure from major powers, turn the tide?

By: N. Peter Kramer | Tuesday, February 10, 2026

Mario Draghi and Enrico Letto, former prime ministers of Italy, wrote scathing reports on the EU competitiveness and the internal market, respectively.

It looks like the world is entering a new nuclear arms race, now with three participants.

Is the world entering a new nuclear arms race?

By: N. Peter Kramer | Wednesday, February 4, 2026

The latest agreement, New Start, between Russia and the US on limiting nuclear arms expires. The US (3700) and Russia (4300) together have about 8.000 nuclear warheads. China stood around 600 last year, but according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), China could have nearly as many intercontinental ballistic missiles as Russia and the US by 2030.

EU Foreign Policy head Kaja Kallas’ idea is, that NATO needs to become more European to maintain it strength. But it will take a very long time.

European security and ownership

By: N. Peter Kramer | Wednesday, January 28, 2026

According to the Wall Street Journal Trump’s turnaround about Greenland followed after a meeting with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte.

The Commission has done everything it can to push through this agreement at all costs. Including artificially splitting it into two parts, an attempt to circumvent the national parliaments and unanimity in the European Council. That can be considered as a far-reaching and democratically very problematic approach.

“The Mercosur agreement is an attack on our agriculture and democracy"

By: N. Peter Kramer | Wednesday, January 21, 2026

Farmers from all over Europe were demonstrating in front of the European Parliament in Strasbourg against the Mercosur agreement. According to many MEPs, the protest was more than justified.

In the field of security, there is a tension between the Commission and the member states. The Commission is seeking a more explicit EU role in defence, while most member states have a growing interest in European cooperation within the NATO framework, for example through a Joint Expeditionary Force with the UK.

The growing gap between the European Commission and the practice (read: member states)

By: N. Peter Kramer | Wednesday, January 14, 2026

The gap between the European Commission’s federal ambitions and actual policy practice in the EU is becoming increasingly visible.

Changing the directive was one of the recommendations from the report by former Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi on Europe’s declining competitiveness. An important step to improve that competitiveness, according to Draghi, was to relax the anti-look-away law.

EU anti-look away law relaxed by European Parliament right

By: N. Peter Kramer | Wednesday, January 7, 2026

The EU anti-look away law (Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive), the dream of the EP left and green and a heritage of the in the meantime disappeared from the scene Commission Vice-President Timmermans, includes that business should not make its money by exploiting labour and destroying the environment.

The six state that EU competitiveness has seriously deteriorated. This would be the direct result of Brussels decisions taken during Commissioner Frans Timmermans ‘reign’ on the basis of ideology rather than facts’.

Six EU countries demand revision of climate policy: ‘Ideological dogmatism harms our industry’

By: N. Peter Kramer | Monday, December 15, 2025

Six European heads of government have called on Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to review the current EU climate policy.

The eagerness of the German tandem Commission President Von der Leyen and Chancellor Merz to seize the in Belgium located Russian assets removes crucial brakes. But Moscow has sent harsh warnings to Belgium about the Russian assets.

German tandem Von der Leyen and Merz prey on Russian assets in Belgium

By: N. Peter Kramer | Wednesday, December 10, 2025

To say that the pressure on the Belgian Prime Minister is immense is the understatement of the year.

The main change by the member states of the deforestation directive is the introduction of a simplification clause.

Member states and EP demand pause on radical green rules

By: N. Peter Kramer | Wednesday, December 3, 2025

Something is finally moving, after decades of more and more regulation. A first simplification package was approved in the European Parliament.

Would the EU insist that ending fossil fuels was mentioned in the final declaration or back down to save the COP30? Eventually the Union agreed with a text without ‘fossil fuels’ and with the threefold increase of the financial climate support for the poor countries : annually 300 billion dollar.

UN climate summit leaves fossil fuels out of the picture

By: N. Peter Kramer | Wednesday, November 26, 2025

It was supposed to be a historic UN climate summit in the Brazilian Amazon city of Belém, thirty years after the first and ten years after the successful Paris summit, a new step in limiting greenhouse gas emissions would be taken.

The only ones who still stubbornly cling to the illusory one and a half degrees are the political and administrative elites who have made a case for the associated policies, the activist climate movement and a few stray activist climate scientists here and there

Guterres: the one and a half Celsius is dead

By: N. Peter Kramer | Wednesday, November 12, 2025

On the eve of the UN climate conference COP30 in Brazil, the word was finally out.

Within the European Council, a fierce political battle is raging to use the blocked billions to support Ukraine, at least that part (140 billon euros) that consists of Russian government bonds.

Russia and China warn the EU about Euroclear billions

By: N. Peter Kramer | Wednesday, November 5, 2025

Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin went on a working visit to Cina. After a meeting with his Chinese colleague Li Qiang in the city of Hangzhou, an extensive press release was published yesterday.

Less regulation, less reporting on sustainability, more realism, more flexibility, and pragmatism are the new marching orders for the European Commission.

EU leaders slow down Green Deal to save industry and business competitiveness

By: N. Peter Kramer | Monday, October 27, 2025

The relation between industry and business competitiveness on the one hand and the green transition on the other was one of the key issues at the Summit last week.

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EU Actually

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